When deciding on a place to spend Memorial Day in Pearl, our motorhome, we knew we would need to seek out a campground that didn't accept reservations. Campers typically make holiday weekend reservations far in advance, and we had no idea where we'd be on Memorial Day until a month or so ahead of time. We didn't want to lock ourselves into a strict schedule by booking months ahead, but we knew we'd need a plan. We decided that if we arrived at a no-reservation spot over a week before Memorial Day weekend and stayed two full weeks, that would get us through the holiday, and we wouldn't end up camped out in a Walmart parking lot on Memorial Day! We chose the Charlton Campground in the Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas. This campground doesn't take reservations and was on our planned route for the spring. Not only did it sound good on paper, our camper buddy Lowell recommended it! Ideal for us, there is no lake at Charlton, and we figured that it would be a calmer, quieter place than a spot that attracts lots of boaters (campers and day visitors) on the holiday weekend. Charlton does have a dammed up creek that attracts swimmers, but compared to the number of boaters we saw parked or hauling their boat trailers to and from nearby Lake Ouachita campgrounds, we made a wise choice. Here is the peaceful spot where we spent two weeks. We were on loop C and had full hookups (water, electric, and sewer). All the comforts of home! We could even hear Walnut Creek from our campsite. Nice! Charlton Campground was built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) in the 1930s, and their stone construction is still standing strong. They dammed up the creek to form this popular swimming area. We did not test the waters, but the kiddies sure seemed to love it. The attractive CCC-built bath house near the swimming area is still functional as well. Of course, not all was perfect at Charlton. The road outside the campground was busier than we like for road cycling, and not all our neighbors were as quiet as we would prefer. Gas-powered scooters and campfires were popular forms of entertainment for campers, leaving a smoky smell in the air and adding some noise to our idyllic spot.
But overall, we made a good choice and had some excellent adventures I'll detail in future blog posts.
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When Barry mentioned that we might be driving near Hope, Arkansas on the way to our Memorial Day spot in the Ouachita National Forest, I immediately said "let's go there!" I remembered the touching video during Bill Clinton's presidential campaign stating "I still believe in a place called Hope". The video featured this small Arkansas town where Clinton was born. I thought it would be fun to check Hope out in person. We thought we might just drive through and stop for an hour or two, but I went online and found a place where we could park for the night -- turns out the city park had RV spots with water and electric hookups. Even better, they had laundry facilities, and we needed to do a couple of loads. So, we pointed Pearl towards Hope. Fair Park was huge, and we had the RV lot all to ourselves. It would be a fine place for the night. The GPS took us down some skinny neighborhood roads to get to the park, when we should have just followed the signs to the park and stayed on wider roads. Make note of that if you ever visit. Barry checked the map and determined that Clinton birthplace home was only about a mile away, so we could walk it. This part of town was kind of run-down and not a place we'd want to be walking around after dark, but during the day it was fine. Before we knew it, we saw the white house with green trim I recognized from my online research. Here's the house, which has been designated a National Historic Site and is maintained by the National Park Service (NPS). Charming, I think. According to the NPS website, President William Jefferson Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe III at Julia Chester Hospital in Hope Arkansas on August 19, 1946. Named after his birth father who was fatally wounded in an automobile accident three months prior to a young Bill Blythe's birth. While the home itself was closed for renovation, the visitor center and museum next door was open, so we checked it out. There were some photos of Clinton's actual room, which was very basic, with a narrow twin bed and small desk, showing his humble roots. We bought a magnet for our magnet board and got our photo taken with the bust of Bill by a friendly NPS staffer. We're really happy that we made this short stop and got to see the home of one of our nation's presidents, and a personal favorite of ours. We believe in a place called Hope!
We used to drive Interstate highways whenever possible. After all, they're the fastest way to one's destination, usually, barring an accident or other unusual condition. And we were always in a hurry to get wherever we were going. But all that has changed now that we have Pearl, our motorhome. We're consciously trying to take time to smell the roses, explore the back roads, and see more of the country than we've seen in our past road trips. Magnolia, Arkansas was one of the little gems we never would have gone through if we'd taken the interstate. We passed through this small town on our way to our Memorial Day camping spot. Seeing many large and colorful murals in the heart of the charming downtown, Barry pulled Pearl over into a grocery store parking lot. It was time to make our lunch anyway, so the timing was perfect. From Wikipedia, I learned that Magnolia is the county seat of Columbia County, and its population is somewhere north of 11,000. It is well-known for its annual Magnolia Blossom Festival and World Championship Steak Cookoff. The festival has been featured on the Food Network and attracts 40,000-plus to the town. The downtown is beloved for its murals, most of which depict the history of the area. It is always challenging to get good photos of murals because of their size and the vehicles that are inevitably parked in front of them, but Barry did his best! Wikipedia said that one of the murals is signed by Charlton Heston. I suspect the mural below is the one he signed, as it illustrates movie scenes. Too bad these prices are only historical!
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Emily & BarryWe're a long-married, early-retired couple who are currently traveling as nomads with no fixed home base. After years of living in North Carolina (Emily's home state), we spent 18 months living oceanfront on Ambergris Caye, Belize, a year road-tripping the US in a Honda CR-V, a year in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and are now roaming North America in our 32' motorhome, Pearl, following warm weather whenever possible. Archives
July 2019
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